Colorado coach Deion Sanders has repeatedly stated his team has better players than opponents after several losses this season.
Sanders’ comments have led to speculation that he is admitting to coaching deficiencies, which he has acknowledged.
Despite taking the blame, Sanders has also said the team ‘missed on several players,’ suggesting some did not meet expectations.
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has made a series of statements after games this season that have struck some observers as either strange or brutally self-critical.
The statements can be summed up like this:
“We had a better team with better players than our opponent, but we still lost the game.”
He’s said something like that after three losses this season, adding fuel to the discussion about why this season turned sour under Sanders and what he will do to fix things after signing a new five-year contract in March worth more than $10 million annually.
The latest statement like this came after his team suffered a 29-22 loss at West Virginia on Nov. 8. The defeat dropped his team to 3-7 this season, including 1-6 in Big 12 play. The Buffaloes now rank 15th out of 16 teams in the conference standings as they enter a bye weekend with two regular-season games remaining.
“I don’t think we played a team that’s athletically and physically better than us,” Sanders said. “I really don’t. I’ll stand on that.”
But the Buffs still lost. So what’s the deal with them then?
‘There is no way that West Virginia is a better team’
This postgame comment from Sanders at West Virginia doubled down on a previous remark he gave to a reporter for TNT during the game.
“Coach Prime told me that collectively, there is no way that West Virginia is a better team than Colorado is,” TNT reported.
Is Sanders admitting coaching is the problem this season by saying it’s not a matter of talent?
Yes, he has taken the blame and promised changes.
“We’ve got players that are so much better than the production that we’re putting out,” Sanders said after the West Virginia game. “So then you’ve got to identify the coaches. That’s us. And that starts with me.”
On the other hand, he also said in a recent interview on TNT “we missed on several players,” which suggests certain players let him down.
“It’s a weird statement, and I’m not sure what it means that you had the better team,” former Colorado and NFL linebacker Chad Brown told USA TODAY Sports. “You had the better team, and you weren’t coached well enough? You had the better team, but they didn’t play to their better-team talents? You had the better team, but the other team got lucky? How do you think you are the better team when you are 15th in the Big 12?”
Deion Sanders’ previous statements after losses
On Oct. 10, after suffering a 35-21 loss at TCU on Oct. 4, Denver sports talk radio station 104.3 FM aired an advertisement for one of its shows that asked, “Do the issues for the Buffs this season begin on the sideline?”
The ad then cut to a recording of a talk show host discussing similar comments from Sanders.
“I do not think it’s a good look for Deion Sanders to continue say we have more talent than our opponent and we’re losing,” the host said in the ad. “Because me, just as a football fan, when you say that and you go to that well, I just start thinking of coaching.”
∎ After the loss to TCU, Sanders said he meant no disrespect to TCU, but said, “I feel like we’re the better team. Felt like that last week, the week before. But yet it’s still we in this situation.”
TCU football responded to this on social media site X by reposting a clip of his remarks with a two-word comment that could be interpreted as snark: “no disrespect.”
∎ The week before, after a 24-21 loss at home against BYU, Sanders said he wasn’t “highly upset” with the loss.
“I’m upset with a few things,” Sanders said after that game. “But sometimes when it seems like you had more talent, but you didn’t quite win the game, it makes it feel somewhat awkward.”
Deion Sanders promises changes
Colorado’s shortcomings this year can’t all be blamed on Sanders even if his remarks are intentionally self-indicting. The Buffaloes lost several top players to the NFL after last year’s 9-4 season, including Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Sanders’ quarterback son Shedeur.
Sanders brought in a top transfer quarterback to replace Shedeur, Kaidon Salter, who didn’t perform close to the level he did at Liberty in 2023, when he led his team to a 13-1 season. Tackling on defense also has been atrocious at times.
Sanders has added some clock-management gaffes to the mix, too, including another one late in the game at West Virginia, when he burned a precious timeout unnecessarily before a field goal attempt.
“It’s really roster management, coach management, understanding what we’re going to do going forward,” Sanders said after the West Virginia game. “But I promise you, it’s going to be some changes.”
Colorado next plays at home against Arizona State on Nov. 22, followed by the regular-season finale at Kansas State on Nov. 29. His three-year record at Colorado is 16-19.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com